Single tones and discrete tone sequences as audio feedback signals in telecommunications equipment such as desktop telephones and mobile telephone handsets normally comprise generic beeps. Such single tones and discrete tone sequences do not convey any explicit information and are thus context bound. Users of the equipment learn the meaning of the single tones and discrete tone sequences through association with the task(s) currently being performed. Hitherto, such single tones and discrete tone sequences have been determined arbitrarily and then qualified through user testing. Experience reveals that such tones are often not closely attended to by users and, in fact, are often ignored. The fact that users can eventually learn what the tones mean for a particular user interaction with a device is based largely on practice and continual, repetitive exposure to the tones. Whilst tones currently employed in known devices as user feedback audio signals can be effective, they necessitate user learning and are not innately recognisable by the user nor are they culturally universal.